President Bush has gone on the offensive for the confirmation of Michael Mukasey, his nominee for attorney general. His tactic? Calling any senator who insists Mukasey give real answers to questions on torture and wiretapping -- you guessed it -- soft on terrorism.

Having served as a top federal prosecutor and judge, Michael Mukasey is perhaps the best-qualified nominee for attorney general in history to answer the questions he has been asked by senators.

Yet when it comes to straightforward questions, like whether waterboarding (simulated drowning) is torture, and even whether it is legal for foreign governments to beat and administer electric shocks to American soldiers overseas⁽¹⁾, Mukasey won’t give straightforward answers.  Until he gives real answers, it is impossible for senators to fully exercise their constitutional duty to "advise and consent" on the Mukasey nomination.

Take Action: Senators Must Insist Mukasey Denounce Acts of Torture.

Mukasey has not only refused to state whether waterboarding is torture when authorized by the U.S. government, but he also refused to say whether it is illegal for foreign countries to commit acts such as waterboarding, electric shocks, beatings, head slaps, and induced hypothermia on Americans. Senators must hold off with Mukasey’s nomination unless he clearly states that tactics like waterboarding and electric shocks are torture. And Mukasey needs to commit to enforce our nation’s anti-torture laws, regardless of who is ordering or carrying out torture.

Take Action: Senators Must Insist Mukasey Denounces Acts of Torture.

As the top law enforcement official in the country, the attorney general is supposed to enforce the law, not equivocate and dance around clear-cut legal issues. Yet Mukasey has evaded straight answers -- not only on torture -- but on eavesdropping as well. Under his theory, any restrictions on unfettered spying that Congress passes may be meaningless, since Mukasey believes the president has the power to engage in domestic wiretapping without a warrant and outside the law.

Mukasey's answers to these questions reveal a more fundamental and troubling problem in his views on the scope of executive power.  If an attorney general, whose mission is to enforce the law, believes the President has the power to disregard the law, our constitutional balance of powers is in peril.

Efforts to bring spying in line with the Constitution, to stop torture and abuse, and to get to the bottom of potential crimes by top federal officials, like former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, all depend on an attorney general that will enforce the law.

Take Action: Senators Must Insist Mukasey Denounces Acts of Torture.

Thank you for your continued involvement.

Sincerely,

Caroline Fredrickson, Director

ACLU Washington Legislative Office

_{1. "Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing for Nomination of Judge Mukasey as Attorney General, Day Two"}

source: The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/documents/transcript_mukasey_hearing_day_two_101807.html

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